Nigeria: making gas work

A recent IPP deal suggests Abuja may have a way to come good on promises to provide power to the people

NIGERIA has a massive power shortage and ambitious plans to remedy it, provid­ing major opportunities for the gas sector. But a chaotic privatisation of electricity distribution, militant attacks on gas pipe­lines and a difficult investment climate means too many people depend on back-up diesel generators to see them through blackouts. It remains a difficult place for would-be gas-fired power producers. Things may be changing. President Muhammadu Buhari has prioritised pow­er sector development, and, unlike some of his predecessors, has taken some practical steps. The most important has been to au­thorise a rise in electricity prices to better fund infrastructure development by power generat